Sidegate for beds



Nov. 13, 1962 v. PECK ET AL 3,063,066

SIDEGATE FOR BEDS Filed Dec. 17. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l 4 JNVENTOR-S H.VPECK 8ND RL PECK BY g KlTToRh/EY United States Patent Gfifice 3,063,066 Patented Nov. 13, 1962 3,063,066 SIDEGATE FOR BEDS Hildegarde V. Peck and Robert L. Peck, both of 7854 Ney Ave., Oakland 5, Calif. Filed Dec. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 731,110 1 Claim. (Cl. 331) The invention relates to sidegates for hospital and other beds.

Recalling that it is customary to provide sidegates for beds to be used by hospitalized persons or by invalids or by sleep-walkers or by younger children or by others to prevent an occupant of a bed from readily falling or escaping from an open side of the bed, a present general purpose is to provide sidegate units which are of adjustable height and length and are arranged for their removable or retained mounting on supports of different lengths carrying beds at different heights.

Accordingly, it is a present object to provide a sidegate unit which is mountable as an attachment for a bed support at an open side thereof.

Another object is to provide a bed sidegate of the character described in which a plurality of rails are relatively adjustable laterally thereof in a common plane and are arranged to have various angular and spacial relations to each other, as may be required or desired.

A further object is to provide a bed sidegate of the character described having one or more longitudinal rails which are laterally adjustable with respect to a bottom rail which is directly and releasably attachable to corner ports of a bedstead while said bottom rail is disposed laterally opposite the edge of the supported bed, with the other rails adjustably related to the secured bottom rail.

An added object of the invention is to provide a bed sidegate unit which is readily mounted or dismounted, or expanded or callapsed in place on a bedstead or similar support, solely by simple and safe manual operations performed without requiring the use of special tools.

Yet another object is to provide a sidegate of the character described in which the relatively adjustable rails are unitarily associated with members directly connecting them for their relative adjustments and handling as a unit.

A still further object is to provide for mounting a present sidegate on a supporting bedstead in such relation to the bed assembly of mattress and bedding that the collapsed rail unit does not hinder access to the spaces above or beneath such assembly.

An additional object is to provide a particularly simple and efltective means for mounting a sidegate on a bed support in cooperative relation to a bed thereon.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth or be apparent in the following description of a typical embodiment thereof, and in the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing sidegates embodying the features of our invention and supportedly mounted on a conventional bedstead, said sidegates being shown in fully expanded and collapsed conditions at opposite sides of the bed.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing amounting plate elementfor a present sidegate as attached to a corner post of a bedstead.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary elevation showing a supporting standard for the sidegate rail assembly as carried on the post-mounted support plate of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken at the line M in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary plan section showing a terminal mounting bolt of the upper siderail as slidably engaged with the bore of a standard.

FIGURE 6 shows the assembly of FIGURE 5 having a bolt of the upper rail supportedly engaged in a receiving hole of the supporting standard.

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 showing the relation of an intermediate rail end to the standard.

FIGURE 8 corresponds to FIGURES 5 to 7, and shows the mouning of the lower siderail on the engaged standard.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary side elevation showing a present sidegate assembly in full laterally expanded condition.

FIGURE 10 is an elevation taken at the line Ill-10 in FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevational taken in an upright plane at the line 1ll11 in FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary side view of the fully collapsed rail assembly of the sidegate.

FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary and partly sectional plan View of the supported upper rail as shown in FIG- URE 11.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the application of sidegates of our invention to an all-metal bedstead of a conventional type having ends 15 comprising panels 16 mounted on and between coplanar side posts 17 of rectangular cross-section providing the legs at the bedstead corners extending below the bed-supporting level and laterally bounding the panels 16. The bedstead ends 15 are suitably connected at corresponding side posts 17 thereof by usual bars 18 connecting the posts and supporting a spring assembly (not shown) upon which a soft mattress 19 is mounted to complete a bed assembly for supporting bedclothes. The present sidegate assemblies 21 are mutually independent and are arranged for their removable mounting on and between corresponding bedstead side posts 17 laterally outwardly of, and along one or both sides of the bed mattress 19.

Essentially, a present sidegate assembly 21 comprises a unitary structure having terminal standards 22 connected by a plurality of relatively adjustable side rails and provided with mutually spaced and coplanar upper and lower bracket arms 23 and 24 extending transversely and rigidly from them adjacent their bottom ends for releasably secured engagement with mounting members 25 which are mounted at like heights at the mutually opposed sides of the bed posts 17, as by bolts 26 or a suitable clamp means. As is particularly brought out in FIG- URES 2 to 4, a mounting member 25 comprises an elongated plate having a pair of the bolts 26 releasably and intermediately fixing them in upright position to and that against the mutually opposed faces of corresponding rectangular side posts 17 which are understood to generally represent supports for a bed at the ends of an open side thereof.

Each mounting plate 25 is provided at its upper end with a headed pin 27 having its head spaced from the plate and is provided at its lower end with a threaded stud 28, with said pin and stud extending outwardly of the supporting post, and having their extending shanks arranged for simultaneous engagement in notches 23 and 24' provided in the upper and lower bracket arms 23 and 24. As particularly shown, the notch 23 of the upper standard-carried arm 23 extends upwardly from the bottom edge of the arm while the notch 24 of the corresponding lower bracket arm 24 extends longitudinally inwardly from the outer end of the corresponding lower arm 24 of the bracket; the arrangement is such that when the pin 27 is engaged in the notch 23' for swingably supporting the standard therefrom, the notch 24 of the lower bracket arm of the standard may re- It will now be generally noted that a present sidegate assembly 21 comprises lower and intermediate and upper rails 31 and 32 and 33 unitarily connecting the standards 22 of the assembly while the upper rails are laterally adjustable with respect to each other and to the lower rail in the plane of the standards. In the present structure, the standards are provided with longitudinal slots 34 for receiving end portions of the rails, and the lower rail 31 has its ends extending through the slots 34 and fixed directly to bottom points of the connected standards by removable pins 35 extending diametrically through the standards and rail ends, the intermediate rail 32 has its extremities fixed by cross-pins 36 to the bottom portions of sleeves 37 which are slidably engaged to the bores of the standards 22 above the pins 35, and the upper rail 33 has its ends secured in the sleeves 37 by cross-pins 38 mounted diametrically in and across the sleeves with their ends extending within the bores of the standards and slidably engaged in interior longitudinal slots 39 of the sleeves.

The present terminal connections for the rails 31 and 32 and 33 of a sidegate assembly respectively comprise flat tongues 41 and 42 and 43 which extend integrally from plugs engaged within the ends of the otherwise tubular rails in diametric relation thereto and in a common plane, and through the side slots 34 of the standards 22 to their various connections within the standards, with the tongues 41 of the lower rail 31 disposed and held to the standards at the bottom of the slots 34 by the pins 35 which extend to the top ends of the standards from points which are spaced from the bottom ends of the standards, while the tongues 42 and 43 of the overlying rails 32 and 33 are guidably slidable along said slot. The tongues 43 of the upper rail 33 are provided by plugs 44 fixed in the ends of the rail sections 33' and 33" (FIG. 11) and are also slidably engaged through longitudinal slots 45 of the sleeves 37 whereby the latter slots register with the standard slots 34 and the sleeves 37 are held against rotation while they are adjustably positionable along the standards with the attached tongues 42 of the rails 32.

At spaced points therealong, the rails 31 and 32 and 33 are preferably linked together in order in their common plane by mutually articulated pairs of hingedly connected links 46 whereby the connected rails are unitarily associated for their variable mutual spacing in a common plane within the limits imposed by their connections at and with the standards 22 in an arrangement which essentially permits a full lateral expansion or compacting collapse of the rail assembly as is illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 8 and 10, it being noted that the links serve solely as fillers or pickets between the rails when the bedmounted rail assembly is laterally expanded. It will be understood that, by reason of the present mutual connection and assembly of the rails provided for the intermediate and upper rails by the sleeves 37 and for all three rails by the links 46, the rail and sleeve assembly may be readily mounted or dismounted as a unit with respect to the standards 22 while the pins 35 are removed from the tongues 41 of the lower rail 31, by appropriately moving the tongues through and upwardly from the upwardly opening slots 34 of the standards, whereby the rail assembly per so may be installed or removed with reference to the top-mounted standards 22 which may therefore remain attached to a particular bedstead or other bed support in readiness for their use when required.

As particularly shown, cap members 47 are provided for their releasably attached mounting on the upper ends of the standards 22 to cover said ends except while a rail assembly is being installed in or removed from a cooperative pair of the standards. Also, if desired, top

closure caps 47' provided for the standards 22 may carry post extensions 48 for the support of equipment to be used with or for an occupant of the bed. Thus, a post extension 48 may adjustably mount a radial arm 48 for supporting a lamp and/ or containers from which liquids are to be delivered by gravity. On the other hand, cap-carried post extensions 48 may be cooperatively used for the purpose of supporting a netting for the protection of the occupant of the bed against flying insects, or for the operative support and disposal of the canopy of an oxygen tent, or be otherwise utilized.

A means is provided at each end of the upper rail 33 of the rail assembly for releasably securing this rail in adjustably raised positions on and along the standard 22 which guides it, said means including a spring-pressed detent comprising a cylindrical bolt 51 which operatively extends longitudinally of the rail and beyond the tongues 43 at the rail ends. As is particularly brought out in FIGURES 5 and 6 and 11 and 13, each bolt 51 extends reciprocably from a socket 52 provided in the plug 44 fixed in the rail end and providing the tongue 43 which is secured to the sleeve member 37 by the pin 38 in the slot 39. The bolt 51 is constantly urged outwardly by a helical compression spring 53 engaged between the inner bolt end and the socket bottom for the guided extension of the outer bolt portion through an opening 54 in the opposite side of the sleeve 37 from the slot 45 thereof to have its outer end portion selectively engaged in bolt-hole or keeper openings 55 of a line thereof provided along the opposed side of the standard 22 for releasably supporting the top rail 33 at different predetermined adjusted heights with respect to the bottom rail 31 which has its end tongues 41 fixed by the pins 35 to the standard 22 at the bottom of the slot 45, as is shown in FIGURES 8 to 12 inclusive.

As particularly shown, a reduced coaxial stem extension 56 of a detent bolt 51 extends freely through the helix of the associated spring 53 and inwardly through and from a complementary guide bore extending axially from the bottom of the socket 52 to the inner end of the plug 44, said stem having a stop pin 57 mounted in and across it for engaging the inner plug end to limit the outward projection of the bolt which is urged by the action of the spring, it being understood that the tip end of the withdrawn bolt 51 may slidably engage the bore of the standard 22 during a height adjustment of the mounted rail; see FIGURE 5. While a release of a bolt 51 from engagement in a hole 55 may be directly effected by pushing inwardly on the exposed bolt extremity to inoperably dispose it for its sliding along the bore of the standard 22 to another hole 55, a means is preferably provided for simultaneously withdrawing both detent bolts of the rail 33 to facilitate positioning adjustments of the rail ends, and said means may conveniently comprise a flexible tension element 58 which is intermediately engaged by a suitable manually actuatable means for shortening the effective distance between the points of engagement of the member 58 with the bolt stems 56 for simultaneously effecting a release of the secured ends of the rail 33 to permit the selective engagement of the bolts 51 in corresponding other holes 55, and so provide for a secured adjusted positioning of the rail along the engaged standards.

Referring particularly to FIGURES 8 and 9 and 11, wherein a rail 33 is shown as having its end tongues 43 secured in the limiting raised positions therefor by the engagement of the bolts 51 in the upper bolt holes 55 of the standards 22, it will be noted that the pin 36 supports the ends of the intermediate rail 32 as a hanger therefor until the latter rail has been lowered to rest upon the bottom rail 31. The spacing of the bolt-receiving holes 55 along the standards 22 is preferably such that the top rail 33 may be supported in Various raised positions with respect to the bottom rail 31 and independently of the corresponding position of the intermediate rail 32, since the free ends of the pins 38 carried by the tongues 43 of the rail 33 may move downwardly in the slots 39 of the sleeves 37 while slidably engaging the standard bores as the rail is further lowered after the intermediate rail 32 has come to rest upon the bottom rail 31. Alternatively, the bolts 51 may be sufiiciently withdrawn through the sleeve openings 54 to provide for their sliding engagement with the bores of the sleeves 37 whereby the tongues 43 at the ends of the upper rail 33 may be adjusted and frictionally held along the sleeves while the intermediate rail 32 rests upon the bottom rail. Preferably, and as shown, the lowermost bolt openings 55 are so disposed in the standards 22 that these openings may be engaged by the detent bolts 51 of the upper rail 33 when the latter rail is supported upon the bottom rail 31; in this manner, the rail assembly may be retained in collapsed condition while the lower rail is fixedly secured to the standards by means of the pins 36, or be bodily dismounted or mounted with respect to the standards 22 while the pins 36 and caps 47 are disengaged from the standards.

The present sidegate assemblies are preferably arranged for their installation on and between differently spaced bedstead ends or posts, and to this end the rails 31 and 32 and 33 respectively comprise relatively long outer sections 31 and 32' and 33' which telescopically and non-rotatively receive shorter rail sections 31 and 32" and 33" respectively, whereby a present sidegate assembly of rails and standards is universally fittable to standards 22 mounted on the posts 17 of longer or shorter bedsteads. In such a sectional structure for the upper rail 33, the operative installation of the flexible bolt-withdrawing tension element 58 is preferably such that a length adjustment of the rail 33 is permitted while the tension element constantly connects the stems 56 of the detent bolts 51 in such a manner that said element is maintained in an operative and substantially taut condition longitudinally thereof, one preferred arrangement for the purpose being disclosed.

By particular reference to FIGURES 8 and and 11, it will be noted that an intermediate pair of the railconnecting links 46 are swingably hinged to a side of the upper rail 33 by a .relatively large cylindrical pin 61 which extends through eye ends of said links 46 and diametrically through the rail section 33 in journalled relation thereto and is arranged for its cooperative use with the tension element for withdrawing the detent bolts 51 of the rail 33. In the present arrangement, one extending end of the pin 61 provides a retaining flange 62 and the other extending pin end fixedly mounts a knurled knob 63 having an inner hub portion 63 disposed outwardly of the link ends engaged by the pin thereat, and said pin is arranged for its manual boltwithdrawing rocking by the use of the knob 63 at all times.

An opening 64 extends diametrically through the portion of the pin 61 within the space of the tubular rail section 33', and said opening receives the tension element 58 therethrough whereby a rotative rocking of the pin 61 by the use of the knob 63 may effect or increase a take-up wrapping of adjacent element portions about the pins. The present element 58 is shown as comprising a length of link chain for providing the required flexibility of the element, and said chain extends from a terminal connection 65 at the inner end of the bolt stem 56 of the outer rail section 33' through the pin opening 64 and to a connection 66 of its other end with the rail section 33 by way of appropriate intermediate engagements with the inner end of the other bolt stem and with the rail section 33'.

As particularly illustrated, the inner end of the stem 56 of the detent bolt 51 carried by the rail section 33" mounts a sheave roller 67 engaged by a return-bend portion of the chain 58 which is defined between the chain portion extending from the pin 61 to the roller 67 and the. portion of the chain extending from the roller to and around a sheave roller 68 which is rotatably mounted on a shaft 69 fixed in and across the rail section 33" adjacent its inner end, and thence to the connection 66. The terminal chain connection 66 is provided at the end of an arm 71 which extends inwardly from a side point of the outer rail section 33 and fully through a slot 72 provided in the rail section 33" longitudinally thereof, the ends of said slot being cooperative with the base of the arm 71 to appropriately limit the possible length adjustment of the rail 33.

Noting that all parts of the chain 58 are retained in mutually coplanar relation by the present chain-mounting arrangement, it will be understood that the chain 58 is so mounted that it is constantly maintained in an operative condition within the rail assembly 33 for all adjusted effective lengths of the rail as measured between the outer ends of the rail-carried tongues 43. Also, the springs 53, which act to constantly and yieldingly urge the operative extension of the detent bolts 51, as determined by the stop pins 57 carried by the bolt stems 56, or by the engagement of the forward ends of the bolts with the bores of the standards 22 or the sleeves 37, also normally function to efiect the operative disposal and retention of the detent bolts 51 in standard openings 55 with which they register.

Furthermore, since the rails 32 and 33 are of independently adjustable length with respect to each other, while the installed bottom rail 31 is of fixed length, it will be understood that the present arrangement permits disposals of the raised rails 32 and 33 in various angular relations to the bottom rail 31 whereby, for instance, corresponding ends of the rails 32 and 33 may be lowered to their limit while the other rail ends are more or less fully raised to provide for the facilitated access over the lowered end of the rail 33 of a nurse or other attendant to an occupant of the bed space. It will also be noted that when a present sidegate is fully collapsed to have the rails 31 and 32 and 33 laterally engaged along them in their plane, the collapsed assembly is preferably disposed to extend upwardly from a plane no lower than that of the longitudinal bedstead frame bars 18 and no higher than the top plane of the mattress 19, whereby the collapsed sidegate will not interfere with access to the space above the mattress or to the space beneath the bed, and the present sidegate may, if desired, remain on a bedstead which mounts it.

While the restraining functions of the present sidegate structure are provided by a set of connected rails which may have their corresponding ends differently spaced, it will be understood that the intermediate siderail might be replaced by a flexible close-woven or net-type fabric connecting the sections 31' and 33' of the lower and upper sidegate rails 31 and 33 respectively. It will also be understood that, since the control of the height of the expanded sidegate is provided solely for the upper siderail 33, a plurality of intermediate rails 32 might be utilized between the rails 33 and 31 while suitably connected to each other and to the rails 33 and 31, whereby the restraining effectiveness of the present gate arrangement may be enhanced by the resulting decrease in the relatively fixed spacing of the rails in the fully expanded sidegate.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the present Sidegate For Beds will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains. While we have shown and described a structure which we now consider to comprise a preferred embodiment of our invention, we desire to have it understood that the showings are primarily illustrative, and that such changes and developments may be made, when desired, as fall within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

In combination with a bedstead movably supported upon a floor and carrying a bed and having an open side extending upwardly from the bed; a sidegate attachment comprising a unitary rail assembly providing relatively movable upper and lower rails connected by a pantographic linkage for their \ariable spacing in maintained parallel relation, said rails having telescopically engaged inner and outer portions; tirely on the head and foot members of the bedstead and providing mutually opposed longitudinal slots guidedly receiving corresponding end portions of the rails for a relative adjustment of the received rail end portions along them between laterally spaced and laterally contacted relations for the rails; spring-biased latch bolts normally cooperative between said end portions of the upper rail and the standards to fixedly and releasably support the said rail ends on the standards in mutually adjusted spaced relation along the standards; a means supportedly fixing the slot-entered portions of the lower said rail to the standard; and a flexible tension member connecting the latch bolt extending from the outer end of the outer rail section with the inner end of said section while intermediately engaging about pulleys mounted on the other bolt and on the inner rail section, said tension member being also diametrically engaged through a pin journalled in the outer rail section diametrically thereof and comprising the connecting pin for a link of the pantographic linkage and extending from said outer standards fixedly mounted enrail section for its turning to effectively shorten the tension member thereat for simultaneously withdrawing both said latch bolts of the rail to then provide for a relative lateral adjustment of the upper rail with respect to the lower rail while said bolt-biasing springs are constantly operative to maintain tensed conditions of the tension member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 778,539 Hamilton Dec. 27, 1904 1,059,515 Barr Apr. 22, 1913 1,840,259 Schmohl Jan. 5, 1932 1,988,889 Boardman Jan. 22, 1935 2,048,955 Showalter July 28, 1936 2,478,028 Travis Aug. 2, 1949 2,515,261 Poskin July 18, 1950 2,624,055 Rude Jan. 6, 1953 2,648,075 Chaffin et al. Aug. 11, 1953 2,811,726 Dyett et al. Nov. 5, 1957 2,871,490 Balonick Feb. 3, 1959 2,891,258 Reichert June 23, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 125,834 Great Britain May 1, 1919 

